abstain

/əbsˈteɪn/uhb-STAYN

/əbsˈteɪn/uhb-STAYN

Meaningto abstain

Common meaning: to hold back from

absaway, offSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. · scan
tainto hold, keep hold ofLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1853 · scan

‘away, off’ + ‘to hold, keep hold of’ → abstain

Journey through time

abs — Latin ab- “away, off” (path traced)
tain — Latin teneō, tenuī, tentum “to hold, keep hold of” (path traced)

Parts join in Latin as abstinere.

Latinab- + tenere‘away, off + to hold, keep hold of’source
Latinabstinere‘to abstain’source
Old Frenchabstenersource
Middle Englishabsteynensource
Englishabstain‘to hold back from’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin abstinere, which Skeat (Concise Dictionary, 1911) analyses as ab- ‘away, off’ + tenere ‘to hold, keep hold of’.

Roots

abstinere Latin “to abstain”
teneō, tenuī, tentum Latin “to hold, keep hold of”

Related words

detain discontent discontinuation discontinue obtain pertinacious rein supercontinent sustain

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